Automatic circuit-closing device for railroad-signals



(No Model.)

I. W. LO'Y 8a R. OTOOLE.

AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT GLUSING DEVICE IOR RAILROAD SIGNALS.

No. 445,564. PatentedI'eb. 3, 1891.

UNHED SrnTEs PATENT Ormes..

IRVIN lV. LOY AND RICHARD OTOOLE, OF MECHANIOSTOWN, ASSIGNORS- OF ONF-THIRD TO JOHN E. MATHHEWS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT-#CLOSING DEVICE FOR RAILROAD-SIGNALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 445,564, dated February 3, 1891.

Application filed April 12,1890, Serial No. 347,672. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, IRVIN V. Lor and RICHARD OTOOLE, of lllechanicstown, in the county of Frederick, in the State of Mary land, have invented certain new and useful Automatic OircuitOlosers for Railroad-Signals, of which the following` is a full and complete specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side sectional elevation of our device; Fig. 2, a plan of the same with parts ot the casing` removed to show the internal parts; Fig, 3, an end elevation with part in section. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a form of rock-shaft lever used in special cases.

In the drawings, 1 represents a track; 2, the bed et the device, upon which the device rests. 3 is a pi1lcw-block located at the end of said bed next the track; 4, a pillow-block located at the rear end of said casing upon the bed. 5 1s a rock-shaft resting upon said pillow-blocks 3 and 4 and extending beyond them on either end.

6 is a rock-shaft lever secured te the end of the rock-shaft 5 on the extremity, near the track. 7 is the end of said lever, extending' on one side and standing above a set-screw S, by which said rock-shaft lever is retained in a horizontal position and prevented from being depressed teo far. i) is the other end of said rock-shaft lever.

10 is a spring iitting in a socket 10,1- in the bed 2 and bearing against the under side of the end 0 of the rock-shaft lever and maiutaining,` it at as high a point as the set-screw 8 will permit.

11 is a linger-bar secured to the inner end el' the rock-shaft lever 5 and extending' upward vertically.

12 is a box er casing,` mounted upon thcbed 2 and extending over therock-shaft lever and its extremities at the rear end. It is quite high and extends up above the finger 11. 13 is a cover to said box, hinged to one side and sen cured by a staple at the other, so that it may be locked when closed. 14 is a shelt' extending across said box at one side thereof. 15 is a lever pivoted at 1G to the side of said box 12 and extending parallel to the cover thereof across the top ol' said box. 17 is a roller secured to a stud on the end of said lever 15.

1S is a lever hinged to the shelf 14 at 19.

2O is a contact-plate, hatchet form, ou the lower extremity of the lever 18.

' 21 is a contact-plate made in the form of an ankle-iron and secured to the upper side of the shelf 14. 22 is another similar plate. These plates are made of copper and upon them are secured the binding-posts 23 and 24.

25 and 2G are holes through the shelf 14, through which pass the wires which carry the current, and which are secured to the plates 21 and 22 by the binding-posts 23 and 27 and 28 are outlet-holes through the casing` 12, through which the Abattery-wires pass.

29 is a bar secured to the rear end ot the lever 18, to the end of which is secured a counterbalance-weight 30, by which the bar 18 and its contact-plate 2O are kept in an elevated position and out of contact with the plates 2l and 22, except when depressed by the roller 17 rolling' upon the back of the lever 1S.

31 is aspring-bar secured at one end to the bed-plate of the device at within the box 12 and held in position by a staple 33, which staple is movable in a slot, so as to give said bar any elevation which may be desired. The slot is marked and is in the bed-plate 2. Said staple is secured by a locking-bolt which maybe moved freely up and down in the slot 33t, and by which the staple may be secured at any desired peint.

34 is a staple secured to the bed-plate 2, and within which the bar 31 moves freely. is the end of said bar, Vas shown in the drawings. lt is in the torni of a gooseneck and somewhat larger than the balance of the. bar. This, however, is unnecessary, as the bar may be made perfectly straight. It is only necessary that thc end of this bar should stand somewhat above the level of ,the track, so that it may be struck by car-wheels passing over the track. The staple S4 is made round and larger than the bar 31, so that when a car-wheel strikes upon. the end 35 of the spring-bar 31 it will be pushed sidewise and downward. Then the wheel is moving` in the direct-ion from the spring-bar 31 toward rco thel rock-shaft, said bar will be pushed sidewise until it will vstrike upon the cud 9 of the rock-shaft leverG and will depress said lever as the end 35 is depressed by a car-wheel. It, on the contrary, the wheel be moving in the opposite direction, the end of the bar 3l will be moved sidewise and downward as far as the staple will permit and will escape the end of the rock-shaft lever Gand not operate the apparatus.

Fig. 4 shows a device in which the rockshaft lever is a different form and the bar 8l is dispensed with. In this form ot a rockshaft lever, one endiof which is extended upward until it is above the track,'and is marked 3b, this end is depressed whenever the train passes over the track. This is for use upon a double-tracked railroad, so that signals may be given in either direction, whether the train be coming up or going down.

The operation of the device is as follows: Vhen a train strikes upon the end 35 of the bar 31, if moving in the direction of the rockshaft lever, it will depress said lever and throw it upon the end 9 of the rock-shaft lever. This will rock the shaft 5, press the finger ll against the side lever l5, push said lever to one side, cause the roller 17 to roll upon the top of the lever 18, and force said lever down until the contact-plate 2O makes contact between the plates 2l and 22, when a circuit will be closed through said plates and a signal given to notify those at a station of the approach of a train.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure byLettcrs Patent, is-'- l. Ina circuit-closing device for railroad signaling apparatus, the combination of a rock-shaft mounted in suitable bearings and located near a railroad -track and provided on the end nearest the track with a rockshai t lever secured to the rock-shaft, elastic means for maintaining said lever in any adjusted position, a iingerbar secured to the other end ot' said rock-shaft, a lever pivoted at about right angles tothe finger-bar and engaged and operated by said fingerbar, a contact-lever engaged and operated by said pivoted lever, and electrical contactplates which are arranged to co-operate with the contact-lever to close an electrical circuit, substantially as described.

2. In a device for automatically operating a railroad signaling device, the combination of a rock-shaft suitably jourualed, located near a railroad-track, and provided on the end next the track with a transverse lever secured to said rock-shaft and a spring-treadlebar, one end of which is secured to the bed ot the device, while the other end is free and extends to the edge of the track and stands somewhat above it and in the path of a locomotive driving-wheel, a staple or other equivalent device limiting its motion, and which is so located that when the treadle-bar is struck by a locomotive driving-wheel moving in the direction from the treadle to the rock-shaft it will cause the end of the treadle to move with said wheel and downward to a sufficient extent to strike the end of the rockshaft lever and depress it, while when the wheel is moving in the opposite direction the treadle-lever will be moved with the Wheel a sufficient extent to escape the end of the rockshaft lever, thus operating the signaling deY vice when moving in one direction,but not in the other.

IRVIN W. LOY. RICHARD OTOOLE.

W itnesses:

ARTHUR STEUART, J No. T. MADDOX. 

